1. Technical Field
Generally, the invention relates to disposable reels. Particularly, the invention relates to a disposable presswood reel having a tubular sleeve and flanges which attach to each end of the sleeve. More particularly, the invention relates to a disposable reel having one-piece molded spool flanges formed with an integral retaining groove which receives the ends of the sleeve and in which the flanges are nestable within each other to facilitate uniform stacking of the flanges during shipping and storage.
2. Background Information
Using spool reels or drums to carry coils of continuous flexible objects such as cable, line, wire cable, rope, ribbon, housing, chain or the like, is well known in the reel art. Conventional reels were formed of a wooden cylindrical sleeve having a pair of circular flanges attached to each end thereof to retain the coil in a wrapped configuration on the sleeve. These wooden reels are expensive, thus requiring that the reels be reused several times in order to make the use of these reels economically efficient. However, reusing these reels is difficult because the large and bulky size of the reels causes the reels to occupy a great deal of space during transportation of the reel from the work site where the reel is emptied to the coil manufacturer which rewinds the reel with additional coil.
Further, these prior art reels are constructed of wood or plywood which require metal hardware such as brackets, long bolts and nuts to hold each flange against the sleeve. The wood material is capable of being recycled but requires the nuts and bolts to be removed from the reel and separated from the wood product before the wood can be recycled. The metal hardware increases the cost of the wooden reels and increases the time required to assemble the nuts and bolts to the flanges and sleeve. Also, because the sleeve is made of paper and secured to the wood flanges by the metal tie rods, the sleeve will absorb moisture and loose compressive strength whereby the tie rod force will collapse to a slight degree the paper sleeve which will loosen the entire reel.
Many disposable reels or drums have been developed which address the problem of transporting the heavy and bulky reels from the work site to the manufacturer for reuse and which are free of metal hardware which must be removed from the reel before the wooden or paper materials can be recycled and which reduces the cost of manufacture and assembly of the reels.
For example, WO 95/26313 discloses a disposable drum having a pair of circular end flanges connected to a center sleeve by a pair of plugs. The end flanges slide over the cylindrical sleeve and the plugs frictionally fit within the opening formed in each end of the sleeve. Each plug has an outer annular flange having a diameter greater than the diameter of the openings of each end flange causing the plug to abut and retain the end flanges on the sleeve. In an alternative embodiment, each end flange has an inwardly extending plug which frictionally engages the opening of the sleeve to frictionally retain each end flange to one end of the sleeve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,567 discloses a method of manufacturing a coil of a continuous flexible object and enveloping the coil to form a parcel. The object is coiled onto an axially open, cylindrical sleeve having two circular annular flat protective disks lockably joined to the sleeve. A plurality of bands are threaded through the sleeve and apertures formed in the protective disks, whereafter the bands are stretched taut and their ends joined to a permanent joint. Each band thus extends axially with the sleeve and transversely over the turns of the cable or line in an endless loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,055 discloses a disposable drum with friction-fit components. The disposable drum includes a cylindrical sleeve and two circular flat end pieces which are firmly secured to opposite ends of the sleeve. Each end piece has an inwardly extending annular flange formed with peripheral protrusions located on the outside of the flange. The protrusions form sharp edges which engage the inner surface of the sleeve to retain the end pieces thereto. In a second embodiment, a groove is formed in the end pieces outside of and adjacent to the flange. The groove receives the end of the sleeve with glue, nails or screws joining the end pieces to the sleeve.
Although these drums are adequate for the purpose for which they are intended, these drums require additional parts such as a band wrapped around the protective rings, plugs which engage the reel or sleeve to hold the flanges thereto or an inner flange having a complicated molding or manufacturing process necessary to form the protruding edges thereon. Additionally, the second embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,055 does not disclose sufficient space to hold the glue or adhesive and does not allow the glue or adhesive to sufficiently grip or adhere to the parts being held together thereby. When the sleeve of the '055 patent is inserted within the groove of the end pieces, the tight friction fit therebetween forces or squeezes a majority of the adhesive out of the groove leaving little adhesive left to form the bond. This small amount of adhesive creates a poor bond between the sleeve and the end pieces and creates an unstable reel or drum.
Therefore, the need exists for an improved disposable presswood reel and flanges therefor in which the flanges are a one-piece molded member which is attachable to the reel with an adhesive bond free of any hardware, in which the flanges are nestable allowing the flanges to be stacked on one another for easy shipping and storage, and which are lightweight and disposable allowing the drums to be recycled or otherwise disposed of.